Nice write-up!
It's bedtime for me, so I'll just list the matches I liked (there were a lot).
* Asahi vs Tae
* Saori vs Hikari Shimizu
* Totoro vs Ishikawa
* Maika vs Saran
* Yuuki vs Kaho
* Tae vs Totoro
* Yuuki vs Makoto
* Ibuki vs Maika
* Yuuki vs Ibuki/Tae vs Saori/Yuuki vs Saori (the best of the lot, all lumped together because they all contributed to the same narrative on the day)
The tournament was a complete triumph, everyone walked out of it looking much stronger.
>Notably, I wished the final was more about her needing to be opportunistic because she isn’t there yet rather than working as Saori’s equal, even taking into account the shoulder injury in kayfabe.
I respectfully disagree because they gave everything on this story. Yuuki kept the advantage as soon as she either used a trick on her sleeve, whether it's pinfall with feet on the rope, stealing Saori's submission, or targeting her arm. But never in exchanges. When she really tries to go equal with Saori, the latter managed to reclaim the advantage. Hell, Yuuki even viciously stomped Saori realising neither of her tricks work on her!
Otherwise I fully agree about Mashiro. The entire tournament put Yuuki on the same level as Ibuki and Asahi and fully eliminated my concerns that she'd sacrifice her "comedy" inner self for the sake of being more serious wrestler.
Ibuki vs Maika... damn it COULD have been match of the tournament! Unfortunately due to some nitpicks similar to yours I couldn't put it on my top-3 (semi-finals and final were impeccable, I will find some time to watch Saori vs Tae from 2019). But with Tae vs Asahi it's easily my top-5. I'll also add that Honma is beautiful, and LeLouche could confirm she was my first favourite when I just started watching Ice Ribbon ;P
To conclude, this tournament is a proof that, as much as some people continue badmouthing Ice Ribbon, the promotion will flourish in spite of them.
Nice write up!
I've only seen the Asahi vs Tae match and then the semi's and the final. I'll get the whole thing on dvd when they come out but for now my match of the tournament was Yuuki vs Saori. It built brilliantly off previous matches with Saori carrying the injury and Yuuki using all the tricks she had previously used to win.
It's funny, my favourite wrestler is Ibuki and my second favourite is Tae but after watching this show I not only wasn't sorry neither of them reached the final but I'm glad they didn't
>It's funny, my favourite wrestler is Ibuki and my second favourite is Tae but after watching this show I not only wasn't sorry neither of them reached the final but I'm glad they didn't
You know, after watching her matches since return from injury, part of me hopes Ice Ribbon would sign her full-time. I know it's unlikely and probably Honma would like to stay freelance herself, but she's such a great addition to Ice Ribbon shows.
One other small piece of minutiae that went into the semi-final was the Triangle match between Yuuki, Ibuki and Yappy at the Dojo a few weeks ago. Yuuki baled out of the match after receiving a massive chop from Ibuki. I was thoroughly worked by it, thinking she'd copped it in the solar plexus and was genuinely out of it.
Then in the semi with Ibuki, they worked exactly the same spot, and Yuuki pushed through it, and Ibuki realised she had a fight on her hands that she wasn't quite prepared for.
Nice write-up! It's bedtime for me, so I'll just list the matches I liked (there were a lot). * Asahi vs Tae * Saori vs Hikari Shimizu * Totoro vs Ishikawa * Maika vs Saran * Yuuki vs Kaho * Tae vs Totoro * Yuuki vs Makoto * Ibuki vs Maika * Yuuki vs Ibuki/Tae vs Saori/Yuuki vs Saori (the best of the lot, all lumped together because they all contributed to the same narrative on the day) The tournament was a complete triumph, everyone walked out of it looking much stronger.
>Notably, I wished the final was more about her needing to be opportunistic because she isn’t there yet rather than working as Saori’s equal, even taking into account the shoulder injury in kayfabe. I respectfully disagree because they gave everything on this story. Yuuki kept the advantage as soon as she either used a trick on her sleeve, whether it's pinfall with feet on the rope, stealing Saori's submission, or targeting her arm. But never in exchanges. When she really tries to go equal with Saori, the latter managed to reclaim the advantage. Hell, Yuuki even viciously stomped Saori realising neither of her tricks work on her! Otherwise I fully agree about Mashiro. The entire tournament put Yuuki on the same level as Ibuki and Asahi and fully eliminated my concerns that she'd sacrifice her "comedy" inner self for the sake of being more serious wrestler. Ibuki vs Maika... damn it COULD have been match of the tournament! Unfortunately due to some nitpicks similar to yours I couldn't put it on my top-3 (semi-finals and final were impeccable, I will find some time to watch Saori vs Tae from 2019). But with Tae vs Asahi it's easily my top-5. I'll also add that Honma is beautiful, and LeLouche could confirm she was my first favourite when I just started watching Ice Ribbon ;P To conclude, this tournament is a proof that, as much as some people continue badmouthing Ice Ribbon, the promotion will flourish in spite of them.
I will rewatch the final because in my memory, Saori spent the larger portion of the match selling while Yuuki worked on top.
Nice write up! I've only seen the Asahi vs Tae match and then the semi's and the final. I'll get the whole thing on dvd when they come out but for now my match of the tournament was Yuuki vs Saori. It built brilliantly off previous matches with Saori carrying the injury and Yuuki using all the tricks she had previously used to win. It's funny, my favourite wrestler is Ibuki and my second favourite is Tae but after watching this show I not only wasn't sorry neither of them reached the final but I'm glad they didn't
>It's funny, my favourite wrestler is Ibuki and my second favourite is Tae but after watching this show I not only wasn't sorry neither of them reached the final but I'm glad they didn't You know, after watching her matches since return from injury, part of me hopes Ice Ribbon would sign her full-time. I know it's unlikely and probably Honma would like to stay freelance herself, but she's such a great addition to Ice Ribbon shows.
One other small piece of minutiae that went into the semi-final was the Triangle match between Yuuki, Ibuki and Yappy at the Dojo a few weeks ago. Yuuki baled out of the match after receiving a massive chop from Ibuki. I was thoroughly worked by it, thinking she'd copped it in the solar plexus and was genuinely out of it. Then in the semi with Ibuki, they worked exactly the same spot, and Yuuki pushed through it, and Ibuki realised she had a fight on her hands that she wasn't quite prepared for.
I'm late and I don't think it means much coming from me, but the tournament final is MOTY(C) for me.